Cafe Dream Tree
by Hikari Kaitou
Summary: Gakuen!AU- Sweden is worried that Finland hasn't been taking care of himself lately, so he invites him over to the café that he and his parents run. A night together turns out to be just what they needed to break the ice between them.


"Tired?"

Finland hurried to cover his mouth as he finished his yawn when he glanced over to see concerned sea-green eyes watching him. His cheeks pinked slightly, a sheepish smile coming over his soft features.

"Eh heh, excuse me," Finland said with a half-laugh. "Actually I am, a little."

Sweden gave him a tiny frown, one that Finland had come to recognize fairly recently as an expression of concern rather than a desire to maim him. The taller boy's hand twitched on top of the table they shared in the chatter-filled classroom as if he wanted to reach out and touch him, but thought better of it.

"Y' ok?" Sweden asked.

Finland forced himself to smile even more brightly through his drowsiness, waving Sweden's concern away. "Oh, don't worry about me," he insisted. "It's nothing serious, just… haven't been sleeping that well, I guess. But who does at this time of year with exams coming up, right? I'm probably not the only one having stress dreams and stuff."

Finland had expected this explanation to relieve Sweden, but instead he simply looked more concerned.

"Havin' bad dreams?" And this time Sweden actually did reach out to him. It was only a single finger brushing over Finland's knuckles briefly, almost timidly, but it was still enough to get Finland's heart pounding.

_He only likes me as a friend, so stop that, _Finland told himself sternly. _I'm not letting my stupid hormones ruin our relationship. _"It's no big deal, Sve," he assured him lightly. "You don't need to look so worried."

"Don't like t' hear that'cher not well," Sweden said.

Was Finland imagining it, or was Sweden's face going a bit red as well? Before he could make up his mind, the chemistry teacher swept into the room looking frazzled, nearly dropping the stack of study guides she was carrying. "Alright, seats everyone. We've got a lot of last minute stuff to go over before the exam and not nearly enough time."

Their classmates sighed resignedly and shuffled back to their seats, and Finland and Sweden faced forward, their conversation prematurely over. As the teacher fired up the projector, Finland got out his notebook and pen, preparing himself for his usual flurry of note-taking.

He was still searching for the place in his notebook where he'd left off when a scrap of paper nudged his hand furtively. Sweden was passing him a note. Finland glanced cautiously up at the teacher before opening it.

"_If you're being kept up by bad dreams, I know something that can help. We've got this special kind of tea at our place. You should stop by after school if you have time._"

Finland looked quizzically over at Sweden, who was bent over his own notebook, giving every appearance of being busy taking notes and deliberately not meeting his eyes. Sweden's ruse was no good, though; Finland was sitting close enough to him to see that Sweden's pen wasn't actually touching the paper, even though the taller student was trying to shield this fact from him with a hand over his notebook.

Was Sweden embarrassed? Finland was gradually getting better at reading him, but it was still difficult sometimes. _If he's getting embarrassed about asking me to stop over… Does that mean he's asking me out? _Finland wondered. There was a bounding, squirming, hopeful excited feeling rising in his chest at the possibility even as he tried to warn himself not to get prematurely excited. He'd just reply to the note casually and see where this led.

"'_Our place'?_" he scribbled back.

"_Parents run a café. I work there part-time. Didn't I ever tell you?_" Sweden wrote in reply.

Finland tried to remember. It seemed impossible that such a topic would never have come up in their two years of having been friends, but if it had, Finland couldn't imagine why he'd never been.

"_Don't think so,_" Finland scrawled. "_I'd like to go, but I've got a final essay to work on tonight for my lit class. Maybe if I finish early, I can come. It'd be nice to finally get some proper sleep._"

"_Don't overwork yourself. I'd hate for you to get sick :(" _Sweden followed this comment with a small, simply drawn map, describing the location of his family's café. "_We're open until 9._"

"_I'll try to make it,_" Finland wrote.

Sweden glanced over at him, meeting his eyes at last with what Finland took for a smile. Finland returned it in spite of his fatigue, feeling happy and flustered, and resolving to do whatever it took to finish his essay before 9.

* * *

Finland sat back from his computer in the school computer lab with a long, deep sigh, scrubbing at his dry, burning eyes with the back of his hand. It was 8:15 and he had just finished his essay, or at least a draft of it. He suspected that once he had a chance to look it over with a mind unclouded by lack of sleep, he'd have quite a few changes to make. For the time being, however, he'd done the best he could, and he felt a little less stressed knowing that he had at least created a template to work from.

Finland bit his lip as he looked out the dark window. He was pretty sure he had enough time to make it to Sweden's family's café before it closed, but an early April rain had started to fall and he hadn't brought an umbrella. The winter's lingering chill combined with the rainfall would probably make the walk quite unpleasant. Finland pulled out the map Sweden had drawn him and tried to judge how long the walk would take.

It didn't look far, but Finland had to admit that he wasn't terribly familiar with that part of town. If the map was to be trusted, he estimated the walk taking between five and ten minutes. _It's worth it to see Sve… and to see if that tea really works, of course! Mostly that._ Finland wasn't even fooling himself. Knowing that sitting here thinking about it wasn't going to help him get there any faster, Finland hurried to gather up his things and stepped out into the drizzle.

* * *

_This street looks oddly familiar, _Finland thought, looking around hopelessly through the gale. What had started out as some relatively harmless sprinkling had escalated with stunning speed into a formidable storm, complete with freezing, blowing wind, driving rain and rumbling thunder which seemed to grow closer and louder all the time. _Damn it, I definitely passed that sign with the graffiti a few minutes ago…_

Shivering violently, Finland gingerly brought out his ITouch so that he could use the light from its screen to check the map again, trying to shield it from the rain as much as possible. It proved to be as fruitless as he knew that it would be. The pouring rain had smudged the ink of the map so badly that it was nearly illegible.

Finland let out a shaky huff, cold, soaked, frustrated, lost and admittedly a little scared. He couldn't be far. Narrowing his eyes against the onslaught of the storm, he tried to observe his surroundings calmly, searching for any landmark that he remembered from the map. It took him a moment, but eventually his eyes alighted upon a park.

_That was definitely on the map_, he recalled, his heart rising hopefully. It fell back down again as lightning shot across the sky brilliantly and a deafening crash of thunder rang out over his head. He ran towards the park, clinging to the only remotely familiar thing in his surroundings. Finland was sure that Sweden's family's café had been kitty-corner to the park on the map.

His frightened violet eyes suddenly locked onto a lighted window, the only one in the nearby surroundings that didn't belong to a house. The rain obscured the details of the shop it belonged to, but Finland began to feel the heady stirrings of hope in his chest. This mysterious illuminated shop was kitty-corner to the park; it had to be the café, or at least this is what Finland told himself. He let out a rather embarrassing squeak as the thunder crashed above him again and rushed toward the lights as fast as his exhausted, freezing legs would take him.

It took effort to force the door closed behind him against the howling wind, and it was a moment before he realized that the owners of the shop, a middle-aged man and woman, were staring at him in mild surprise. Finland went pink, pushing his sopping hair out of his face, noting with dazed relief that the shop he had found refuge in was indeed a café. This had to be the place.

"Um, s-sorry, I… Your light was on and I was lost in the storm… Y-you're not closed, are you?" he stammered. It was an effort to keep his shivering under control as he spoke so that his words could be easily understood.

The surprised look on the woman's face slipped away to be replaced with a kind and sympathetic one instead. "Don't worry about that, dear, you look half-frozen and soaked to the bone. Come and sit down, I'll bring you a blanket and some hot tea."

The woman had a pleasant lilting accent that reminded Finland of the one Sweden hadn't completely shaken, despite having now lived longer in this country than he had in his homeland.

"Th-thank you," Finland said, still shivering as he allowed the woman to guide him to a seat near the fireplace. "Um, I was trying to find the C-Café Dream Tree when I got lost… I don't suppose this is…"

"Yes, you've found it," the woman assured him with a smile. "Are you Finland?"

"Y-yes, ma'am," Finland replied. "Are you S-S-Sve's mother?"

"That's me," she said, winking and pulling the chair out for him. "Don't we look alike?"

Finland considered her for a moment. He could see a slight resemblance in the eyes and shape of the mouth, although her face was far more expressive than her son's.

"Hmm, a little bit," he said slowly.

Sweden's mother laughed. "I know, he looks much more like his father. Speaking of Svi, I'll just tell him you're here, and get you that blanket I promised. Go ahead and choose anything you like from the menu on the house. Svi almost never brings friends around, so I'd better treat the special few well."

"Thank you very much," Finland called after her as she disappeared into the back room of the shop.

He scooted himself a bit closer to the fire, casting a curious glance at the man behind the counter who had so far stayed silent as he cleaned. There was no question that this man was Sweden's father; if not for the age difference the two of them might have been twins. They had the same chiseled jaw, intense gaze, glasses, and imposing build. They weren't identical though, Finland realized. The father had higher cheekbones, slightly thicker eyebrows, and a cowlick that caused his bangs to stand up on one side.

Sweden's father paused in his cleaning to shoot an appraising look at his son's friend, and for some reason this made Finland's face heat up brilliantly. Hoping to distract himself from the awkwardness of the situation, Finland took this opportunity to have a closer look at his surroundings. It was a stylish little café, with a large fireplace made of layered cream-colored stone and arching rounded windows with cushioned seats in the sills so that they could be sat in. The walls were bi-colored: deep, warm red on the bottom half until they hit the line of wood trim, above which was off-white and stamped with whimsical golden depictions of creatures from Norse mythology.

Finland was just wondering if it was ok for him to be dripping rainwater on the polished wooden floors when Sweden bustled out of the backroom from whence his mother had gone to fetch him. His arms were loaded with towels and blankets, and there was a dry change of clothes balanced precariously on top.

"S-Sorry I'm late," Finland said meekly as Sweden wordlessly wrapped a towel and a blanket around Finland's shoulders and began to dry Finland's hair for him gently with another one of the towels.

"Y' didn't have t' come all this way in th' storm," Sweden scolded softly. "Y' shoulda called. I'd o' borrowed m' parents' car 'n' come t' pick ya up."

"I forgot my phone at home this morning," Finland said apologetically. "Um, y-you don't have to dry me off, I think I can… Hah…choo! Hatchoo!"

Before Finland could even consider trying to hold them back, two sneezes snuck up on him, making Sweden look even more worried. He stopped drying Finland's hair, his hand hesitating for a fraction of a second before cupping Finland's cheek instead. Sweden's hand was so warm and gentle that Finland found himself leaning into it even as he blushed at the intimacy of his touch.

"Yer freezin'," Sweden mumbled. "Y' need a hot shower 'n' dry clothes b'fore ya catch yer death."

Finland fidgeted uncertainly in his chair. Admittedly this sounded like a wonderful idea, but the thought of using Sweden's shower made a series of shivers race down Finland's spine that had nothing to do with his chill.

"You can borrow our bathroom if you like," Sweden's mother piped up. "I'd hate for you to catch pneumonia on my watch."

"Oh, um…" Finland hesitated nervously.

"Don't worry, it's no trouble," Sweden's mother assured him. "You're perfectly welcome here. If you'd like to choose something from the menu, I can have it heated up and ready for you when you finish your shower."

"Not takin' no for an answer," Sweden said firmly, though his cheeks were nearly as red as Finland's as he helped Finland to his feet.

Sweden proceeded to wrap another blanket around Finland's trembling shoulders before handing him the menu.

"If yer havin' tea, I suggest one o' these pastries," Sweden told him, pointing to a small section of scones on the menu.

"Hmm… the cinnamon one sounds good," Finland said.

"Alright, we'll get those ready for you," Sweden's mother said good-naturedly. "In the meantime, you go get yourself warmed up."

Before Finland could get another word in edgewise, Sweden was hustling him to the living area above the café for his shower.

* * *

Finland emerged from the steamy bathroom attached to Sweden's room about fifteen minutes later, dressed in a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants of Sweden's, rubbing his hair dry with a towel. Sweden was sitting on his bed, waiting for Finland, giving a rather convincing show of looking through some study materials. It was no good though, because Finland could see that his eyes weren't moving. Was he waiting for Finland to say something?

"Um, thanks for lending me the shower and some dry clothes," Finland said.

Sweden didn't look at him for a moment, and when he finally lifted his gaze from his faux-studying, he did so slowly as if he hardly dared to look. Upon taking in the sight of Finland standing before him wearing Sweden's clothes, his cheeks began to flush so deeply that Finland couldn't convince himself that it was a trick of the light. This set Finland off blushing. He was hesitant to allow himself to get hopeful, but this situation made him feel like there might be hope of Sweden returning his feelings after all. He wasn't somehow misreading this, was he?

"F-feelin' better?" Sweden stammered.

"Yeah, I think… I think that helped," Finland said, fiddling nervously with the hem of the oversized sweatshirt.

"Parents saidja should prob'ly spend the night here," Sweden said. "'S dangerous t' drive ya home in this storm. 'S that ok?"

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to impose, but…"Finland jumped and gasped as a roar of thunder sounded above their heads, so loud and close that it rattled the windows and made the floor beneath them shudder. "I-I'd appreciate not having to be alone tonight."

"Y' don't like th' thunder," Sweden observed sympathetically as Finland trembled, bracing himself for the next rumble.

"If it's just normal thunder I don't mind so much, but when it's this severe, I—" Another crash sounded overhead, cutting off Finland's sentence and causing him to jump again rather badly.

Before Finland could start feeling embarrassed by his own conduct, Sweden had stood up from the bed, crossed the room in a few strides and swept Finland into his arms, holding him firmly against his taut chest.

It took a moment for this sudden change to sink in, but once it did Finland's cheeks began to warm rapidly. Was this a dream? He'd longed to hold Sweden like this so many times, but he'd never been able to gather the nerve, telling himself that his feelings were one-sided. It almost seemed too good to be true that it should happen now, out of the blue, without Finland having instigated it himself.

Not wanting Sweden to think that he was averse to cuddling like this, Finland shyly allowed his head to rest against Sweden's shoulder, his arms curling around Sweden's waist. Sweden must've taken a shower when he got home from school as well because Finland could smell something like soap or perhaps shaving cream lingering on his skin and the scent was so alluring that it threatened to drive Finland mad.

"Svi? Is your friend out of the shower yet?" Sweden's mother called up the stairs suddenly. "I've got his snack ready, and the water's heated up for tea if you want to have him come down and choose one."

Both of them started at the sound of her voice, but to Finland's relief Sweden didn't pull away from him. This was doubly appreciated since another explosion of thunder sounded overhead a fraction of a second later, startling him again. The taller boy rubbed Finland's back soothingly.

"'Kay, be right there," he called back.

Finland's heart throbbed at the way he could feel Sweden's deep voice vibrating in his chest. God, did he ever want to kiss him. Sweden rubbed his back again.

"Y' gonna be ok?" Sweden asked softly.

Finland nodded, feeling a little ashamed of himself even as he rejoiced in the closeness that the situation had granted them. "Y-yes, I'm sorry. I know thunder's a silly thing to be scared of, I just…"

"It's ok," Sweden assured him. "Everyone's got stuff they're 'fraid of."

Finland was grateful that Sweden was so understanding, but he still didn't like having to show this side of himself, especially to someone that he wanted to impress. He wondered if it would be rude of him to ask Sweden what he was afraid of.

"C'mon, let me show ya th' tea room," Sweden offered.

Finland nodded in agreement. Sweden led him back down into the café, past his parents, who were still putting the finishing up the closing-time cleaning duties, and into a small storage area. The strong, earthy scent of herbs and spices washed over Finland as he followed Sweden inside.

"Mm, it smells great," Finland remarked. "Wow, I've never seen so many kinds of tea in my life!"

The storage room, though not terribly large, was home to an impressive number of shelves which lined the walls, all of which were filled with canister upon canister of loose-leaf tea. There were some standard flavors like Earl Gray and English Breakfast that Finland recognized, but there were more that he'd never heard of before, with names like Fairy Arrow, and Red Dragon, and Queen Cristina's Court.

"Most're custom blends," Sweden said. "Mom grows a lotta th' herbs 'n' stuff herself."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Finland breathed. "That's what I call devotion to your craft."

"Dream teas're here," Sweden said, pointing.

"'Dream tea'…" Finland repeated slowly, approaching the shelf Sweden had indicated for a better look. "How is it different from regular tea?"

"'Ncludes a special herb that helps ya relax and induces pleasant dreams," Sweden explained. "Never known it t' fail. Shop's gotten kinda famous for it."

Finland took a canister of dream tea labeled Eden, popped open the lid and took a curious sniff. "Mm, minty," he said with a smile. "Just the smell of it makes me feel kind of relaxed."

Sweden returned his smile slightly. Finland selected a few other canisters, giving them each an experimental sniff.

"Most of them smell pretty good," Finland said. "Geez, there're so many flavors I have no idea which one to go with. Can you recommend one?"

Sweden hesitated, an uncertain look coming over his face, and for a moment Finland feared that he'd somehow said the wrong thing although he couldn't imagine what that wrong thing might've been. Then Sweden spoke again.

"Actually… I've started tryin' m' hand at inventin' tea blends," he mumbled. "Only managed one dream tea that I've been proud of…"

"Ooh, which one is it?" Finland asked brightly. "I want to try it!"

Sweden went red, shuffling slightly the way he often did when he was embarrassed. He nodded silently towards one of the canisters. Finland leaned in to get a closer look at the label.

"'Moi Moi Suomi Blend'," Finland read. He went pink as well. "Wh-what's this?"

"Licorice root, raspberry leaf, cinnamon bark, dried cloudberry, lavender, chamomile, spearmint, cardamom seed, valerian root, dream leaf, 'n' passion flower extract," Sweden listed self-consciously. "Good with rock sugar."

"…I… don't know what to say except that it sounds perfect," Finland said softly.

"Was thinkin' o' you when I made it," Sweden admitted shyly. "Brings th' sweetest dreams 'f any o' our teas."

"I can't wait to try it," Finland said, grinning blushingly at Sweden.

Sweden nodded awkwardly, keeping his eyes fixed determinedly on the floor as he went to retrieve a measuring scoop for the tea leaves.

* * *

The boys ended up bringing their tea and snack back to Sweden's room. It had been Sweden's mother's suggestion, and Finland was grateful for it even as he worried that she could tell that things had progressed between them tonight.

It wasn't his imagination, right? He was fairly certain that their relationship was shifting before his eyes. Before now there had been only fleeting touches and shy compliments, but tonight Sweden had held him and soothed him, and blushed as he admitted that thoughts of Finland had influenced his work for the better.

Heart still pounding hopefully, he sat down on the floor of Sweden's bedroom and carefully set down the mugs of freshly brewed dream tea. Sweden followed, closing the door behind him and lowered himself to the floor right beside Finland. Finland's mouth watered as Sweden cut open the cinnamon scones and spread a generous amount of warm honey butter on top of them.

"Hungry?" Sweden asked amusedly when Finland's stomach growled.

"Ah ha ha… I guess so," Finland laughed sheepishly. "I was trying to finish my essay quickly so I started right after school and skipped supper."

Sweden looked dismayed by this information. "You're skippin' meals too?"

"I don't normally do that," Finland assured him hurriedly. "I just did it tonight because I wanted to make sure I got here before you guys closed. I… I wanted to see you."

Sweden continued to look disapproving as he passed Finland his scone and gestured for him to eat. He refused to avert his gaze until Finland had taken a bite. Finland's eyes fluttered closed in bliss when he tasted the pastry.

"Mm, your mom's an amazing cook," he sighed happily.

"Dad's th' baker," Sweden corrected. "Mom makes th' tea 'n' coffee."

Finland licked crumbs and honey butter from his fingers before taking a sip of his tea.

"Ohhh, wow," Finland hummed, taking another sip.

"Y' like it?" Sweden asked eagerly.

"This is so good!" Finland moaned. "It's got this nice little spicy zing that warms you up right to the core."

Sweden tried to hide the pleased flush in his cheeks by taking a slow drink from his own mug. Finland followed suit, drinking deeply. With each swallow, he could feel his tension and stress easing slightly. This was aided by the fact that although wind and rain continued to lash the windows mercilessly, the thunder was moving off into the distance.

Finland took a deep breath of the steam still rising from his tea. Sweden had said that this tea, this one that had been blended specifically to suit Finland's tastes, brought the sweetest dreams of any of their teas. Was this true for everyone or was this some sort of bias of Sweden's speaking? The thought made his heart flutter hopefully. What kind of dream would he have? Something about Sweden would be nice.

By the time Finland lowered his mug for the last time, he had started to yawn. Sweden stacked their dishes and set them on his desk. His large, warm hand cupped Finland's face, thumb running tenderly over the insomnia-induced shadows under Finland's eyes.

"Promise y' won't n'glect yerself 'nymore," Sweden requested softly.

"I'm not doing it on purpose," Finland said earnestly. "Life just gets in the way sometimes."

"Yer skin's ashen," Sweden observed. "Y' feel alright?"

Finland yawned again. "Sleepy…"

Sweden got to his feet and pulled back the covers on the bed. "C'mon."

Finland got blearily to his feet and let Sweden usher him into bed. "But where will you sleep?" he asked in a drowsy murmur.

"B'sideja, 'f that's ok," Sweden replied, sounding remarkably calm considering how deeply he was blushing.

"Mmkay," Finland agreed, his eyes slipping closed. He was too sleepy to be embarrassed.

Sweden changed his clothes quickly and turned out the light before climbing into bed beside Finland. The shorter boy rolled over and snuggled up to his beloved friend, draping an arm around his waist and tucking his head under Sweden's chin. Sweden accepted Finland's cuddling shyly, rubbing his back the way he had when he'd soothed Finland earlier that evening. A happy little shiver ran down Sweden's spine when Finland sighed softly and shifted so that his lips rested against Sweden's neck.

Finland allowed himself to drift off, hazily grateful for the ease with which he was able to fall asleep, smiling slightly at the large, gentle fingers that had begun to stroke his hair reverently.

* * *

"_Hn," Sweden grunted, putting the car in park and switching off the engine._

"_A park?" Finland said quizzically, squinting around at their rapidly darkening surroundings._

"_Just wait'll ya see," Sweden said, letting himself out into the parking lot._

_Finland followed suit, his heart throbbing excitedly as he took Sweden's arm. Usually when Sweden got all secretive about their date spots, it was because he had found somewhere really amazing that he wanted to surprise Finland with. He let Sweden lead him into the park. It was fairly quiet now that darkness was falling. Only a few joggers and couples were out and about. _

_Sweden led him to a secluded spot at the edge of the park where the manicured grounds started to give way to tall, wild grass. He stopped at the base of a wide, squat tree with low branches and hoisted himself up into them before offering Finland a hand. The two of them climbed up a few levels until Sweden found a branch that met his satisfaction and gestured for Finland to sit. _

_It took a moment for Finland to get himself situated comfortably beside Sweden on the tree branch, thus he didn't immediately notice their surroundings. Once he was in position, though, he gasped. The wild field beyond the park was positively luminescent with what must have been thousands of fireflies._

"_Oh Sve, it's beautiful!" he breathed. _

_Sweden gave him a tiny smile as he leaned in for a lingering kiss. "Thoughtcha'd like it."_

_They kissed again, and then once more, and when they finally parted, Finland laid his head happily on Sweden's shoulder._

"_I had no idea there was a place like this in town," Finland sighed. _

"_Found it last week when I was waitin' fer it t' be time t' pick ya up from work."_

_A firefly drifted lazily over near them and Sweden caught it in his cupped hands. Picking up the insect carefully, he transferred it to Finland's ring finger where it glimmered like a jewel._

"_It's like a ring," he noted happily._

_Sweden kissed his neck. "'D like ta put a real one o' those on yer finger someday. Once we graduate."_

_Finland couldn't help the huge grin that spread across his face at this. "I'll be waiting for that day, then," he said playfully._

_As their lips met again, the firefly fluttered away into the night._

* * *

Finland began to awake slowly late the next morning, thankfully a Saturday, feeling far more rested than he had in weeks. That dream tea was magical, he concluded; that had been a wonderfully deep and peaceful sleep, and what wonderful images his sleeping brain had produced. Visions of him and Sweden, together, happy, in love… He'd seen those sorts of dreams before, but never as vivid as they'd been last night.

It took a second more to register that he wasn't alone in bed. Long fingers stroked his hair lovingly, clearly belonging to the warm body snuggled up at his side. A fraction of a second more produced a simultaneously thrilling and terrifying possibility about who that warm body might belong to. Finland eased his eyes open tentatively and felt a swoop of joy and fear when he saw Sweden lying beside him, watching him sleep with a remarkably tender expression on his normally forbidding-looking face. Sweden blushed when Finland looked at him, but to Finland's relief he didn't pull away.

"G-good morning," Finland breathed.

"Mornin'," Sweden mumbled. "How'dja sleep?"

"Great," Finland said with a brilliant smile that made Sweden blush even more. "I didn't have a single bad dream. Actually, I… I dreamt of you… of us… um, t-together, I mean."

Sweden looked stunned, and for a moment Finland worried that he'd completely misunderstood everything that had happened between them and that he shouldn't have revealed that. But then, to his immense relief, Sweden admitted in a voice that was scarcely more than a whisper, "I dreamt 'f us, too."

The smile that spread across Finland's face at this could have outshone the sun. Sweden's face was drawing nearer now, and Finland knew it wasn't his imagination. "It was nice," he murmured. "But I thought maybe it would be even nicer if, you know… it wasn't a dream. If it was real…"

Now it was Sweden's turn to smile, just a tiny upturn of the corners of his lips, a slight crinkle at the corners of his eyes, but it was more than enough to make Finland's heart throb wildly. "Y' read m' mind."

Their noses brushed and it was as if someone had flipped a switch; the two boys reached for each other suddenly, the slowly decreasing gap between them closing in an instant. Their lips met hungrily, noses bumping gracelessly against each other, Sweden's glasses pressed uncomfortably into Finland's cheek and the bridge of their owner's nose. Neither of them cared about the slight discomfort; they were far too wrapped up in the moment. Finland hummed as Sweden nibbled softly at his lip and he invited Sweden's tongue into his mouth.

One kiss transitioned into three, five, eight. Sweden rolled them over so that Finland was on top of him. The thin fabric of their sweatpants was not sufficient to conceal the evidence of burgeoning erections. Without thinking, Finland ground his hips against Sweden's and the two of them let out muffled moans into each other's mouths.

Deciding his lips were ready to explore other territory, Finland pulled away slightly so that he could trace a light trail up the side of Sweden's jaw with the tip of his tongue and nipped at his earlobe. Sweden grunted in approval and rolled his hips again.

"Mm, Sve…" Finland breathed, his head falling back with pleasure.

Sweden's hands slid up Finland's thighs to his butt and gave it an appreciative squeeze. At that moment, there was a brief knock on the door, and before either of them had time to process the fact that they had company, the door swung open suddenly.

"Oh!" Sweden's mother said with a soft laugh of surprise. "Sorry, I didn't know you two were…!"

Finland and Sweden tried to separate from each other as quickly as possible, mortified at having been caught, but the blankets had become twisted around them in the course of their cavorting. Sweden's mother smiled and averted her eyes mercifully.

"No point in knockin' if yer just gonna open th' door right away," Sweden mumbled, blushing to the tips of his ears.

"Sorry to have interrupted," she said, sounding more amused than embarrassed. "I just thought you two would like to know that breakfast is ready."

"Th-thank you, we'll be right there," Finland stammered, his face every bit as red as Sweden's.

"Seriously, dunno whatcha were thinkin'," Sweden continued irritably.

"It's alright, Sve," Finland said consolingly. "It was an honest mistake."

"Sorry!" Sweden's mother said again, raising her hands in an apology that was somewhat spoiled by the fact that she was grinning widely.

Sweden looked like he was going to snip at her again, but Finland gave the retreating woman in the doorway a furtive glance to make sure that she wasn't watching before touching a quick kiss to the tip of Sweden's nose.

"Come on, let's just go down and have breakfast, ok?" he suggested. "Don't worry about it."

And just like that, Sweden's desire to raise a stink withered and died. The two of them linked fingertips surreptitiously and followed Sweden's mother downstairs.


End file.
